Staffing in the 21st Century :New Challenges and Strategic Opportunities

STAFFING

Many challenges for staffing in the 21st century eg. knowledge based work places greater demands on employee competencies

Organizational decision makers recognize staffing as a key strategic opportunity for enhancing competitive advantage

RECRUITMENTMeta analysis conducted by Chapman,

Uggerslev, Carroll. Piasentin and Jones (2005)

Following are the findingsPerceptions of person –organization fit

and job/organizational attributes were the strongest predictors of the various recruiting outcomes

They were followed by perceptions of the recruitment process , recruiter competencies and hiring expectencies

Person –Environment FitKristof-Brown, Jansen and Colbert(2002) found

support for a three level conceptualization of fit- person-job, person-group and person –organization

Cable and DeRue(2002) argued for three types of subjective subjective fit perceptions

Person-organizationPerson-jobNeeds-supplies Cable and Edwards(2004)examined the

similarities and differences between complimentary fit and supplementary fit

Employer Brand ImageCable and Turban (2003) showed that

applicants use the firm’s reputation as a signal about the job attributes and as a source of pride from being a member

Collins and Stevens(2002) argued that in the early stages of recruitment, organizations can use publicity, sponsorship of universities and schools, word of mouth and advertising to create a positive brand image

Employer Brand ImageLievens and Highhouse(2003)

introduced the instrumental-symbolic framework to recruiting

It was found symbolic attributes provided incremental explanation of organizational attractiveness beyond that provided by instrumental attributes

Applicant ReactionsStereotype threatThreat of confirming that

negative stereotype interferes with a person’s performance

The lack of stereotype threat effect was found in a high-stakes field study by M.J.Cullen, Hardison and Sackett(2004)

Attitudinal perceptions and reactions

Meta analysis by Hausknecht, Day and thomas(2004)

Selection procedures- consistent, job related/face valid

Interviews and work samples are perceived most favourably followed by cognitive tests

Internet recruitingCober, Brown, Keeping and

Levy(2004) presented a model describing how organizational websites influence applicant attraction

FaçadeQuestions remain unanswered

PERSONNEL SELECTION BEST PRACTICES

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN SELECTION PRACTICES

COGNITIVE ABILITY•Employers must recognize that the sole use of cognitive ability may impair their ability to hire a diverse workforce•As long as the best selection methods negatively affect diversity , organizations will be tempted to avoid using them•In Sackett, Schmitt, Ellingson and Kabin and Hough(2001), Oswald and Ployhart(2001), numerous strategies have been discussed that may reduce subgroup differences, such as supplementing cognitive tests with noncognitive tests

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN SELECTION PRACTICES(cont..)PERSONALITY•The now classic meta analysis by Barrick and Mount (1991) found personality traits (as measured on the Five Factor Model) demonstrated criterion-related validity for various criteria(whose magnitude was low if not zero)•The uncorrected validities have not changed much since Guion and Gottier(1965), which concluded there was not much support for personality validity.•Most Human Resource managers remain skeptical•Does faking reduce the usefulness of personality in selection contexts?

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN SELECTION PRACTICES(cont..)

SITUATIONAL JUDGEMENT TESTSTend to be received favourably

by applicants and HR PersonnelWhat they measure and why they

are effective remain unclearConcern whether they can be

implemented cross culturally

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN SELECTION PRACTICES(cont..)

ASSESSMENT CENTRESHave been plagued by apparent lack

of construct validityLievens’s research(2002) suggests

that construct validity may be most determined by applicant behaviour , applicants must demonstrate high consistency across exercises and also high variability across dimensions

Convergent validity will be enhanced when trained assessors like psychologists conduct the test

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN SELECTION PRACTICES(cont..)

WORK SAMPLESIt is believed that they provide one of the

best ways to provide one of the best ways to simultaneously achieve validity and diversity

However meta –analysis by Roth, Bobko and McFarland(2005) found work samples show a corrected criterion related validity of .33 , much smaller than the often cited .54 in the classic Hunter and Hunter(1984)

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN SELECTION PRACTICES(cont..)

INTERVIEWSStructured interviews/Unstructured

interviewsMeta Analysis by Huffcutt, Conway, Roth

and Stone(2001)identified seven latent dimensions

Most common dimensions assessed were social skills and personality

SELECTION USING INTERNETProctored v/s unproctored testingVariety of legal issues surrounding

Internet testing

PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

Use selection methods such as assessment centres, work samples or SJTs

An approach that enhances validity is to include a battery of cognitive ability and personality predictors

Despite all the attention focused on selection practices , there are still many questions that need additional research

Eg. What barriers exist to organizations adopting different predictors?

Multi-Level staffing Linking Individual staffing to Organizational Effectiveness

Individual Differences – Knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics, generally referred to as KSAO or Human Capital

Micro Level Research - Analysis of how individual differences contribute towards individual performance and assume that individual differences contribute to organizational value.

Macro Level Research - Examines how HR practices contribute to organizational performance but assumes that these practices have an effect because of their influence on employee individual differences.

organizations having well-developed staffing practices have better performance (Huselid,1995),but the focus is on the practice itself and not the specific human capital affected by the practice

Each discipline rarely considers processes, constructs and influences outside its respective level

Need for Multi Level theoryCross Level Fallacy - Inferences and

assumption beyond respective levels and occurs when researchers inappropriately generalize their within-level findings to higher or lower levels of analysis (Rousseau,1985)

staffing research needs to connect micro and macro levels

Inability to show unit level value (Schneider 2000)

Organizations are inherently nested and hierarchical

Multi Level Theory Contextual effects -  are “top-down” effects from

higher to lower levels e.g., changing an organization’s HR practices changes the behavior of individual employees.

 Emergent effects - are “bottom-up” effects from lower to higher levels

 Kozlowski and Klein (2000) - A phenomenon is emergent when it originates in the cognition, affect behaviors, or other characteristics of individuals, is amplified by their interactions, and manifests as a higher-level, collective phenomenon.

composition models of emergence theorize that there is such high similarity (homogeneity)among lower level observations (employees) that the within-unit scores create a distinct aggregate-level construct.

compilation models of emergence theorize that variability (heterogeneity)among lower level observations (employees) represents a unique higher level construct.

Practical Recommendations and Implications for Organizational Effectiveness

Multi-level staffing models do not negate the importance of single-level recruitment and selection research

the model offers a way to demonstrate the value of staffing by examining the relationships between individual differences/human capital with individual outcomes/unit-level outcomes.

Multi-level staffing also offers the opportunity to advance staffing theory, some of them described in next slide

Human capital, the aggregate individual differences linked to unit effectiveness, is rare, inimitable and can provide competitive advantage. That’s why low level jobs and competencies should considered strategic since it is very difficult for competitor to develop such human capital.

Strategic human management researchers should start measuring human capital directly i.e. through emergence.

Implications of the model for future research suggested by Ployhart

Neglected Questionswhy do managers so often fail to believe

in our technology and science?how does staffing contribute to

reinforcing/changing/articulating organizational culture, climate, values, personality, and vision?

what are the consequences of outsourcing staffing?

are findings based on civil service organizations generalized to private sector organizations?